Danon to UN: Want compensation? Ask Hamas

Israeli Ambassador responds to UN request for compensation from Israel for damage to UN schools in Gaza.

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Elad Benari, 23/03/18 03:08

Danny Danon

UN photo

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon reacted on Thursday to a request by the United Nations for compensation from the State of Israel for damage to UN schools in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

"Israel will do all that is necessary to defend our citizens and to eliminate any threat to the security of our country,” said Ambassador Danon.

“Instead of lodging complaints with Israel, the UN should demand compensation from Hamas which exploits humanitarian facilities and uses them to attack innocent Israelis, while putting the people of Gaza in harm’s way. The UN should conduct an internal review and assess how, time and again, its facilities are taken advantage of by terrorist organizations,” he added.

During the 2014 counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge, Hamas rockets were discovered inside a school building run by UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”.

Likewise, a booby-trapped UNRWA clinic was detonated, killing three IDF soldiers. Aside from the massive amounts of explosives hidden in the walls of the clinic, it was revealed that it stood on top of dozens of terror tunnels, showing how UNRWA is closely embedded with Hamas.

In September, a Hamas terrorist tunnel was discovered underneath an UNRWA school in Gaza.

The U.S. recently announced it would cut some of its funding to UNRWA, citing a need to undertake a fundamental re-examination of the organization, both in the way it operates and the way it is funded.

Last week, UNRWA received pledges of $100 million in additional funding from Qatar, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, New Zealand, Norway, Korea, Mexico, Slovakia, India and France.